The Democratic Party of Arkansas has set $3,150 as the filing fee to seek the party's nomination for a state Senate seat vacated by a lawmaker who resigned over improper campaign spending. read more >

The state Democratic and Republican parties say they'll use primary elections, rather than conventions, to choose candidates for a state Senate seat vacated after the resignation of Sen. Paul Bookout. read more >

Arkansas House and Senate leaders say lawmakers will meet for a refresher course on the state's ethics laws after a state senator resigned over his campaign spending money on clothes, home theater equipment and other personal items. read more >

Campaign finance laws can seem arcane and unnecessarily complex, but the concept is not unique to politicians. Fiduciaries, brokers, agents, trustees, attorneys — even borrowers — are also entrusted with other people’s money for limited and specific purposes. Campaign contributions do not, and should not, become personal income to provide public servants with more comfortable standards of living than they have otherwise earned. read more >

Arkansas Lt. Gov. Mark Darr filed an ethics complaint against himself on Friday over hundreds of dollars his campaign spent at gas stations and restaurants shortly after he took office that were classified as fundraising expenses. Meanwhile, the lawyer who first questioned the spending said he's also filed a complaint with the panel over the reports. read more >

Paul Bookout, a Democratic state senator from northeast Arkansas, resigned after an ethics panel said he spent thousands of dollars from his re-election campaign on personal items such as women's clothing and home theater equipment. "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of the state of Arkansas," Bookout, who's been in the Senate since 2006, wrote. read more >

A special prosecutor has been appointed to review the case of a Democratic state senator who was fined $8,000 and reprimanded by the state Ethics Commission. read more >

A prosecutor in northeast Arkansas is calling for a special prosecutor to review an ethics panel's findings about a Democratic state senator. read more >

The Arkansas Ethics Commission has fined a former president of the state Senate $8,000 and found that he violated four campaign laws. read more >

Arkansas legislative leaders on Monday vowed to work across party lines after an election where Republicans won control of the House and Senate for the first time in 138 years, opening a session that will be dominated by questions about the state's Medicaid program. read more >